


Worlds Collide

by c1nnaboo



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Action, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Other, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, additional tags to be added later, scifi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:01:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28889520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c1nnaboo/pseuds/c1nnaboo
Summary: When Cinnabon ‘Cinna’ Syntenin finds herself in the Devildom, she knows she has to find her own way out of there.To do that, she needs to gather as much as information on the seven demon brothers as she can to use to her advantage. Determined to survive by all means necessary, Cinna is even ready to make pacts with the demons.But as she learns more about the brothers, her feelings for them start to change… growing deeper. And though she senses that she’ll eventually have to make a heart-wrenching decision between her lovers, things are looking up for Cinna.Until the past comes knocking on the door… Will the brothers help her? Can she even let them do that..?
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Original Female Character(s), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	1. Drifting

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been playing OM! for only 4ish months at this stage, so forgive me if I’m not getting some of the characters and lore ‘correctly’. (Gotten to Lesson 40 boss, though, ahaha...) I have no idea how long this is going to be... 
> 
> This story will mostly focus on the in-game main story, with some alterations in accordance with how I started imagining things could’ve gone. Sometimes I use actual bits of in-game dialogue.
> 
> The MC in this story is one of my OCs, and there’s going to be other OCs as well. The human world is ‘alternate’ from ours / the in-game one in the sense that there are monsters that roam around, pestering towns and cities, and technology is way more advanced than ours. 
> 
> Not sure if the content is actually going to be explicit, but already labeling it as such just in case. There is definitely going to be swearing, including F-bombs. Most likely graphic descriptions as well, referring to violent, sexual and abusive content. I will also do my best to include some fluff, as well as emotional scenes to practice writing different scenes and character development.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Cinna; a pre-story chapter, if you will.

* * *

The fuck am I doing with my life? _As I laid on my back on the messy floor, staring at the slowly rotating ceiling fan and holding a bottle of liquor, I couldn’t help wondering about that. My right thigh itched and ached, so I reached a hand to scratch at the bandages I had wrapped around the leg._ At least I’m nobody’s property anymore _, I thought grimly._

_As I moved, the thin metal chain I still wore around my neck slipped from under my top. The two rectangular plates attached to the chain slid down, clinking as they dropped next to my ear._

_My chest tightened as my heartbeat picked up a little. I released my grip on the liquor bottle and slapped the hand to my neck, crawling the fingers down to feel around for the tags. I grabbed one of them and lifted my hand, moving it closer to my face to examine the engravings on it: letters and numbers decorated one side, while on the other was an etching of a helmet._

Keep them as a memento, _I had been told. But I didn’t like mementos: when I run away, I burn the bridges behind me and never look back. Yet…_

 _I wrapped my hand around the tags, clutching to them so tightly that I could feel the metal biting into the skin of my palm. I just couldn’t throw them away – the last link to my siblings_ …

 _The quiet hum of the ceiling fan was the only sound in my tiny studio apartment. Wrappings and boxes from fast food restaurants littered the floor, along with bottles and cans. And clothes. Magazines. Batteries to the remote and gaming console controllers._ I should clean around here. Get a grip _. Then again, why should I bother..? I'd been without a proper direction or purpose for a while now. Part of me yearned for someone to tell me what to do next. Life had been easier that way..._

_Suddenly feeling drowsy, my eyelids started fluttering close. As I drifted into sleep, my grip on the dog-tags slowly loosened._

* * *

Help me… Please help me…

You’re my only hope…

I beg you… you must find me…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last three lines are from the OM! website.
> 
> I haven't written fan fiction in a long while (15 years), and definitely haven't shared any with anyone in ages... In fact I rarely share any of my writing with anyone at all, so figured it's about time I start doing that haha.
> 
> I’m honestly tempted to link this story to another franchise, but I might use stuff from my own original story project instead (that stuff won’t enter the story for a while, so I’ve time to ponder about this). I will edit all the tags accordingly if I do go down that road. In fact, I'll probably have to edit the tags and stuff anyway as the story progresses, haha.
> 
> Once actual chapter 1 is up, I'll do my best to update once a week (on Wednesdays/Thursdays) from thereon. :)


	2. Arriving to Devildom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer is not sure what to think of their other human exchange student. Cinna decides to come up with a plan to escape.

* * *

“Lord Diavolo… are you sure about this?” Lucifer asked. He gave the woman dressed in a white-tank top and a pair of black cargo trousers a long, scrutinizing look: the first thing he couldn’t help noticing about her were the tattoos – three claw-shaped stripes decorated her left shoulder, and two thick stripes went around her right bicep. The human’s orange-brown hair had been braided to rest on her right shoulder, and she had some sort of a metal necklace around her neck.

But the one detail that kept drawing Lucifer’s attention were her eyes. The right one was clear-blue, while the other was jade-green – below it was a small claw-shaped, red-colored mark. _Another tattoo, or a scar_?

Lord Diavolo shifted on his seat. A wide smile brightened his face. “I’m sure. This human is our best candidate for the exchange program.”

Lucifer drew his lips to a thin line. He pushed back the thoughts the words ‘exchange program’ brought to him: to get himself something else to think about, he gave the woman another lingering look. She was standing slightly hunched, and her expression was blank. “How can you be so certain? We chose her completely at random…” Lucifer murmured, lowering his voice in the hopes that his brothers wouldn’t hear him. He recalled how the wind from the open window of his study had made the papers fly around the room, and how then at the top of the messy pile had been this woman’s file.

Diavolo drew out some papers and waved them in Lucifer’s direction. “Yes, but you’ve read these too. You _know_ that I’m right, Lucifer. She’s perfect!”

The black-haired man with a red hue in his dark eyes allowed himself to sigh. He could tell the Demon Lord was giddy with excitement – golden eyes were shining, and the man with red-brown hair could barely sit still. Lucifer found it difficult to feel so excited: in fact, looking at the human he couldn’t help feeling a sting of irritation that was close to loathing. _If it wasn’t for this program_ — No. He cut off the thought instantly. He shouldn’t have dwelled on the matter: the exchange program was too important for Diavolo.

And Lucifer would do his everything to make sure Lord Diavolo's plans were brought into fruition.

Still… He knitted his brows together. This was so typical of Diavolo, Lucifer thought, feeling a twinge of irritation again. The Demon Lord could be just as mischievous, childish and troublesome as his own brothers… Realizing his thoughts were straying to some dangerous territory again, Lucifer sighed. “If you say so, Diavolo.”

“Hmh! I think it’s time we introduce ourselves.” Diavolo leaned back on his seat and threw a leg over the other. “Break off the spell.”

Lucifer lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The human’s eyes widened. For a moment it looked like she was about to lose her balance, but she was quick to regain it – Lucifer noticed her throwing a glance around herself, after which her stance immediately changed to a more defensive one, with her body slightly turned towards him and the others, one foot in front of the other, hands lifting. Her eyes narrowed, too.

“Ahh. Welcome to the Devildom, Cinnabon”, Lord Diavolo said cheerfully. 

The woman’s gaze shifted onto him at once. “The Devildom?” she repeated in a somewhat hoarse voice. 

As Diavolo started explaining, Lucifer couldn’t help lifting a brow at the human’s reaction. There was no fear in her tone, nor in her appearance. No hostility either, just cautiousness. _Interesting_. As she listened to Diavolo, her stance changed again: the woman moved her feet closer together, facing Diavolo, Lucifer and the others, and straightened her back while clasping her hands behind herself. Green-and-blue eyes started gleaming coldly while she glared at the Demon Lord.

“So why exactly am I here?”  
  


Lucifer stirred, pushing himself off his seat. “I will explain everything to you.” He placed his hand to his chest and smirked at the woman. “Speaking on behalf of the entire student body at this great and storied school of ours…” Her eyes narrowed to thinner slits. Despite not being scared, she was definitely on her guard. _She’s no stranger to danger_ . “Diavolo believes that we demons should start strengthening our relationship with both the human world and the Celestial Realm. As a first step toward this goal, we’ve decided to institute an exchange program. We’ve sent two of our students to the human world and two to the Celestial Realm. And we’re welcoming four students to our school: two from your world and two from the Celestial Realm.” Lucifer shook his head and narrowed his own eyes. “So, I take it you’ve probably put two and two together at this point, right?” He chuckled. “You’ve been chosen from among the people of the human world to participate in this program of ours. _You are our newest exchange student_.”

The woman crossed her arms. “So, lemme get this straight. You want to improve the relations between you demons, the angels, and us humans. And you figured the best way to do this was to kidnap a random human off the streets?”

Diavolo frowned. “It wasn’t like that. Your application was carefully chosen among many candidates. You possess many qualities that—” 

“Forget it”, said the human. Her other hand reached for the chain around her neck. “I’m nobody’s pawn.” Then she shrugged. “But, I’m guessing whatever this place really is, I can’t leave here unless I do as y’all say. Right? So.” The woman released the chain and put her hand to her hip: her eyes flashed, and the corner of her lip curled up. “Bring it on.”

  
Lucifer stared at her. _She’s quite different from Solomon_ , he thought as he started explaining the exchange program to the human in more detail. He wasn’t sure whether the notion should’ve made him feel concerned or amused.

* * *

_Devildom, huh. What the actual fuck. Either I was high, or someone was messing with my head. Was this some new sick simulation? Or had I actually applied to this RAD?_

_As the men talked, my thoughts were racing, trying to figure out a way out._ I need more intel _, I realized when the other guys were introduced to me. One of them immediately tried to charm me with his eyes, and another dude said my name reminded him of cinnamon buns and that he was now hungry. Even though the black-haired man told him to behave himself, I got the feeling that I’d need to be careful around the buffy orange-hair._

_“Cinna”, I blurted out as the hungry fellow put a hand to his stomach, looking gravely upset. “Everyone calls me just Cinna.”_

_I quickly learned that what I said didn’t really seem to matter. Despite the ‘warm’ welcome, I definitely didn’t feel that welcome in the Devildom. The guys were constantly referring to me as just ‘the human’, and I was warned that demons would want to try and either tempt me to corrupt me… or just eat me. And the brother that was supposed to be my ‘guide’ or whatever kept whining about the situation, not to mention he ditched me at the first opportunity he got._

_Whatever this Devildom place was, it was obviously highly dangerous. Which meant that I’d need to get out of there ASAP, which in turn meant collecting as much intel on the place and its habitants as I could to come up with a plan. I’d already managed to gather quite a lot from the brothers’ interactions between each other at the Assembly Hall. Their relations were definitely… tense, to put it mildly._

_Perhaps it was something I could use to my advantage in an effort to get out of there faster._ A full fucking year in this place _… No way in hell._

_I bared my teeth shortly. ‘Cept that I already apparently_ was _there. In Hell. Damn. Well, whatever. I had to get out of there. But since I didn’t have any magical powers of my own, I’d need a demon’s help…_

_And apparently in order to get one of the brothers to help me, to bend them to my will, I’d need to form a pact with one._

_I absent-mindedly started rubbing on my right thigh. I didn’t really like the idea of forcing someone to act against their own will, and the white-haired brother had made it_ very _obvious that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. Actually,_ none _of them wanted anything to do with me: they kept making hints at the fact, or even said it directly. Frankly, I didn’t want anything to do with any of them either, and I definitely didn’t want to go around begging for help from_ dudes _, but… I dug my fingers to my leg._ It’s just a contingency plan, in case I can’t figure out my own way out of here, _I told myself_. The pacts are just a contingency plan _…_ Nothing more.

_Nothing more._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going to take me a while to get used to this website's editor, ahaha.


	3. Show 'Hem Where the Shelf Stands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mammon isn't too happy about the pact. Neither is Cinna, but when she discovers the attic stairs she decides to make some use of it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Show them where the shelf stands' is a rather crude, direct translation of a Finnish saying, 'näyttää kaapin paikka'. Basically it means to show someone who's the real boss, who dominates in the relationship, etc. As a linguist I'm aware the English language has its own sayings for the same meaning, but I just really wanted to use this one. :P

* * *

“Damn, this sucks!” Mammon mumbled to himself as he tossed himself on a couch in his room, clutching to something in his hand. He pressed it to his chest, feeling his own heart pounding fast.

Mammon’s mind was in a whirlwind as he thought back on the most recent events. First, that call that had almost given him a heart-attack – he’d thought it’d been Lucifer, but instead he’d heard a woman’s voice… _Human_ . Throwing an arm over his forehead, Mammon stared at the ceiling. Just thinking about her voice and then seeing her for the first time made the whirlwind inside of him even worse. _But she’s just a human, and not even anythin’ special_. Though she had a weird pair of eyes for sure: the other was green, the other blue…

Mammon recalled how the human had stood in the Assembly Hall. He had expected the woman to be cowering in fear or something, but instead she’d just stood there with her back straight and those odd eyes glaring back at him as he’d threatened to eat her. Of course he wouldn’t have actually eaten her, Lucifer would’ve burned him to crisp if he did that. Mammon had just wanted to see her reaction. 

But she’d just calmly agreed not to cause him any trouble, and that had been it. And as they’d walked together from RAD to the House of Lamentation, she’d merely listened quietly to his ranting. Mammon had stolen a few glances at her, noting how her eyes had seemed to be scanning her surroundings. _Maybe she’s actually scared, but just really good at hiding it_ , he’d thought.

Or maybe she was too stupid not to realize she should’ve been trembling in fear in their presence. Especially _The_ Great Mammon’s presence. ‘Cause when he’d tried to make it clear to her that he _wasn’t_ scared of Lucifer or anything like that, she’d had the insolence to go and say with a completely blank face, “Honestly, I don’t care.”

Ooh… Just thinking about it made Mammon squirm restlessly. He’d asked her if _she_ wasn’t scared – he _was_ a demon, after all. “Does it actually matter what I feel?” had been the cursed woman’s response. _What a strange human_ … More and more irritated by the situation, he had then ditched her in Levi’s care and had almost forgotten all about her until—

Slowly, Mammon eased his grip around the item he was holding in his hand. With gentle fingers, he picked up the black-and-gold card between his fingers, lifting it above his face to examine it. _Goldie_..! Mammon’s cheeks flushed.

The white-haired man put a hand to the spot on his body where a tattoo-like marking had appeared. To think that Levi had _actually_ teamed up with someone to work against him… With a _human_ too, of all things. A human woman, to be exact, though Mammon wondered if Levi had even noticed the ‘woman’ part about her just yet: she hadn’t exactly looked like the typical lady with her casual attire. But that had actually happened – Levi had told the woman about the card, and in exchange of that information that damn otaku had demanded that she order Mammon to pay back some old debt.

“Sorry about this”, the human had said. There had been a strange flash in her weird eyes… Almost like sympathy. _No one's looked at me like that before._

His anger and embarrassment about the situation flaring up, Mammon rubbed at the marking on his skin. _The Great Mammon doesn’t need some random weak human’s sympathy_ ! It was all so damn humiliating, insulting even. Everyone was whispering now, laughing at him. Making fun of him. _Stupid Mammon_. First Lucifer had told him to babysit the human, and then the human had gone and made a fool out of him by tricking him into a stupid pact…

He’d have to make it clear to her that _he_ was the boss, not the other way around. Yeah, that was it. Mammon smirked, then gave the credit card a kiss. “Dunno how useful a human servant is going to be…” he mumbled, brushing Goldie with his thumb. “But guess I’m about to find out!” Yeah! Mammon snickered. He'd make the human do _his_ bidding instead – knock her off her high horse, put her in her rightful place. She’d obey _him_!

The next day, before classes started, he dragged the human aside. “Listen”, Mammon started after he finished grumbling about how awfully his brothers were treating him. “Ever since you got here, it’s been nothin’ but one bad thing after another for me.”

Something flashed in the woman’s eyes, and she drew her lips to a thin line. _Did I just… hurt her somehow?_ Not that it mattered.

Still, staring into her cold eyes, Mammon felt some of his excitement and confidence shaking off a little. “So, let’s get somethin’ straight. I didn’t make this pact ‘cause I wanted to, and I ain’t happy about it! Everything I did was for my baby Goldie.” Mammon’s heart raced as he prepared to hear the usual mockeries. Hell, even the witches who used him would sometimes insult him. But not this human. This one just stared at him silently with a serious expression. Mammon swallowed hard when something inside him fluttered. Had there been another flash of sympathy in her eyes..? Or was it pity?

Then the human shrugged. “The feeling’s mutual, then.”

“...What!?”

The woman tilted her head slightly. “I’m a survivalist. I did what I did to increase my odds of survival. But don’t worry. I’ll figure out my way around here by myself, so I’m not going to use the pact against you in any way, unless I absolutely necessarily have to.”

Mammon felt his eyes widen in shock. At first he was too stunned to speak, but then his anger flared up. “D-do ya even realize who you’re talkin’' to!? I’m The Great Mammon! So stop insulting me!” How could anyone in their right mind talk to a demon like that..? She must’ve been nuts, or dumb, or both!

The human had the audacity to look puzzled. “Isn’t it a good thing I don’t want to make use of you and your demonic powers?” 

“W-well”, Mammon stammered, panicking a little as he realized he was struggling to come up with an answer. “That’d mean ya think I’d be useless to ya… You’re nothing but a basic, powerless human, yet ya think ya can make it here all by yourself..! Don’t make me laugh.” Mammon pointed a finger at the woman. “If you end up gettin’ yourself eaten by some demon here at RAD ‘cause of that attitude of yours, don’t blame me, _‘cause I don’t give a damn._ ”

Anger started blazing in the woman’s eyes. To his shock, she bared her teeth at him and growled: “Shut up, demon.”

“What?!” snickered Mammon. “You know, you’ve really got a nasty mouth on you, doncha?! You’re just a lowly human, and nothin’ more! So, you’d better learn your place, and fast!” He curled his fingers, reaching them towards the woman. “Maybe I’ll just go ahead and eat you right now!”

He expected her to start screaming and running then. But no, she just stood still. Maybe she was too scared to run? Like a bunny frozen in place in the face of a threat. 

Confused, Mammon halted. “What’s wrong? Am I _that_ intimidating? Do I frighten you?” He wanted to kick himself for asking so many questions, and for realizing that he’d sounded more concerned than anything else. Like he cared what the human felt! “Listen, if you stop talkin’ back and just do what I tell ya, then things won’t be so bad for—” Lowering his hands, Mammon took a step forward.

* * *

"Stay." _The command just rolled off my tongue. To my surprise the effect was immediate: Mammon froze still. I think we were both just as shocked to see that._

 _“Wh.. Wh-what’s going on?” the white-haired demon groaned. “I… I can’t move…” His blue-and-golden eyes widened. “Wh-what’d you do to me?! Is this some kind of magic?! Listen up, h..hu...human…” The guy inhaled sharply. “Cinna. What the.. dammit! Don’t tell me this is all ‘cause of the_ pact _?!” He wriggled wildly, as if trying to free himself from an invisible hold. “Now you listen to me! You may control my body, but not my mind! I’m my own boss, and I always will be! Don’t you ever forget that!”_

_Suddenly feeling overcome with sadness and disappointment, I shook my head. “I told you earlier, didn’t I? I’ve no interest in controlling you or anything like that.”_

_Exhaustion added to the mixture of emotions that were raging inside of me. I’d been taken to this weird ass place against my own will, finding myself surrounded by demon dudes who wanted nothing to do with me, I’d been threatened and insulted almost constantly since I had arrived. Now I’d been through such treatment before and I’d developed a pretty thick skin, but it still stung to hear from a bunch of hot dudes how much they loathed me._

_Not to mention I hadn’t wanted to make the pact, either, but I’d really needed a contingency plan._

_Mammon opened his mouth to speak, quivered, his eyes widening again. “Huma… Cinna… Cinna, my boss!” he blurted out. “No, Your Majesty Cinna…!”_

_I glared at him. “Stop fucking around with me, Mammon.”_

_Seething, I turned around and marched off with my hands curled into tight fists. Yeah, I’d need to get out of there ASAP. I hadn’t been in the Devildom for that long, and I was already fed up with the place… and I couldn’t really trust the demons to help me, not even Mammon despite the pact. One of the angel exchange students, Luke, had told me not to trust them, either. Especially not Lucifer._

_Falling asleep was usually easy for me no matter where I was, but that night it turned out to be a struggle. I tossed and turned for a good while. Then I got up, took out a notebook and a pen, and started writing down the pieces of intel I had already gathered so far, using code in case unwanted personnel would snoop around and take a look. I had a gut feeling that these demons wouldn’t know how to respect a person’s privacy, or at least some of them wouldn’t. And the hungry, buff dude had told me their family issues were none of my business (untrue in a sense, since uncovering their secrets was essential to my survival), so I figured they wouldn’t appreciate my notes a whole lot. Then there were the little creatures wearing hats, the Little Ds, who apparently worked as housekeepers or something. When I’d been inspecting my new uniform and muttering out loud I didn’t want to wear a damn skirt, one had poked its head into the room and suggested I go around naked._

_I had made a hand gesture as if to shoot the creature. It had left quickly._

_Once I was done scribbling shit down, I settled back under the covers. But just as I was finally ready to drift off, I heard a voice._

_I went perfectly still, holding my breath as I strained my ears to hear the faint voice say something. It sounded vaguely familiar… “...el… elp…” ‘Help’, maybe? “Someone help me…” Yep, there it was. I_ _got up swiftly and poked my head out of the room, glancing around. I could hear the voice again: it seemed to come from the end of the hallway. There was a spiraling staircase leading up. I stepped out of the room and headed towards the stairs._

_“Over here..!” the voice called out, sounding more excited._

_But just then a definitely familiar voice spoke up from behind me: “Cinna.” Whoopsie. I spun around to directly face the man with black hair. Lucifer. He was frowning. “Stop right there. You’ll go no farther… that’s not a place for humans. It’s dangerous.”_

_“Danger is my second name”, I blurted out._

_Lucifer’s eyes narrowed to thinner slits. “Go back to your room.”_

_“What if I don’t?”_

_Lucifer glared at me at first, but then he suddenly laughed out loud heartily. “Interesting”, he murmured, smirking – seeing his eyes lit up, I had to swallow hard. “I think I’m starting to understand why_ you _were chosen to come here. But you can’t say no. Because_ I’m not giving you a choice _. Now then, back to your room.” Lucifer gestured with his hand. “If you value your life, you’ll do as I say.”_

_Somehow I knew he really meant what he said. Without my gear I’d stand no chance against him anyway, so there was no use in trying my luck. But… As I laid down on the bed again, I couldn’t help wondering what was up those stairs that he didn’t want me to see._

_Could it be something that could help me get out of the Devildom faster..?_

_Surprisingly enough, the person who gave me suggestions as to how to proceed was Mammon. To my annoyance he had started to sneak around me, while constantly complaining about 'having' to spend time with a human. I told him he could've just buggered off and not bother, but he was… adamant. It was confusing as fuck - I can't stand people who say one thing then act the other way._

_Maybe it was because of the..? I rubbed at the spot where a tattoo-like marking had appeared after we’d formed the pact. My cheeks went red. Why did it have to be over my damn heart, of all places..!?_

_Anyway, when he told me how I could possibly distract Lucifer to get up those stairs, I decided to drag Mammon with me to meet one of his brothers: the reclusive Leviathan._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cinna's Notes on the Devildom & the Brothers, Decoded Entry
> 
> \- Location: Devildom, Hell, sim world ? Always night-time. RAD (school). Dorms: HoL, Purgatory Hall, others?? Town? Explore more. Also look into: Celestial Realm.  
> \- Demons, devils, succubi, incubi, angels. Magical powers. Powers required to travel between the worlds?? Find a way to confirm.  
> \- Lots of dudes in RAD; uniforms. School subjects range from the usual ones (math, sciences, history,...) to stranger ones (spells, potions, ...). Teachers look strict but seem pretty chill?  
> \- Leader: Diavolo, top dude / Lord, son of the Demon King ? Student council president; red hair, golden eyes? More intel required.  
> \- Barbatos: Lord dude's butler. Dark-green? hair with some teal?, green eyes. Seems calm, polite, collected, very butler-y. More intel required.  
> \- 'Little Ds' help in tasks and household chores? Little creatures that look like balls of fluffy charcoal; hats; different colors for eyes and horns, colors represent the '7 sins'? More intel required.  
> \- 7 brothers, apparently rulers in this place as well or otherwise high-ranked; definitely draw attention to themselves; 'Avatars of 7 Sins'; tense relations with each other.  
> \- Lucifer, 'first-born'/eldest, Avatar of Pride ('blue'): tall, slim, black hair, black/dark eyes with a red tint? Arrogant, strict, polite but threatening; dangerous. Lord dude's right-hand man / friend; student council VP. More intel required.  
> \- Mammon, 'second-born', Avatar of Greed ('yellow'/gold): not that tall, skinny, white hair, blue eyes with gold/yellow tint? Rants/complains and brags a lot, mischievous, loves money and riches. Has a credit card called 'Goldie'. Arrogant. Scared of Lucifer. In debt to lots of people. Teased/bullied/harassed a lot by the others, they don't seem to like him at all. Not happy about our pact. Apparently pact works somewhat like nerv-lace: could control his body; use only when absolutely necessary for safety!! Need more intel.  
> \- Leviathan, 'third-born', Avatar of Envy ('orange'): not that tall either, also skinny, slightly hunched, purple hair, orange eyes with purple tint? Not much around (studies online?). 'Otaku'/shut-in. Collects lots of fan merch. TSL fan. More intel required.  
> \- Satan, 'fourth-born', Avatar of Wrath ('green'): almost as tall as Lucifer, skinny, blond hair, mostly green? eyes. Smiles a lot, seems polite and well-composed; according to others, the smile's just a facade. More intel required.  
> \- Asmodeus, 'fifth-born', Avatar of Lust ('pink'): short, skinny, well-done hair (light color? light brown? light strawberry/champagne?), looks wavy and soft. Peach-colored? eyes, apparently can charm people with them but charm didn't work on me?? (Because of SIA?) Seems fashionable and arrogant, but kinda nice (ignores me a lot). More intel required.  
> \- Beelzebub, 'sixth-born', Avatar of Gluttony ('red'): tall, tallest, buffy, looks strong (probably works out a lot), orange hair, strange eye-color (shades of purple / blue and a pink/magenta tint?). Quiet. Constantly hungry. Be careful - might eat me. More intel required.  
> \- ???, 'seventh-born', Avatar of ??? ('???'): ??? Haven't seen this one: in the human world for Lord dude's student exchange program. More intel required.  
> \- Solomon: another human, sorcerer. White / silver hair. Silver/grey eyes?? Polite, friendly. Something off-putting about him. Need more intel.   
> \- Simeon: one of the angels; tall, skinny, dark-chocolate hair, teal?? eyes. Seems easily amused and chill, but has an aura of mischief. Seems to enjoy being in this place. Stay on guard. Has made hints to the times when the bros were angels?? More intel required.  
> \- Luke: another angel. Short, child-like, blond hair (almost white??), blue-ish eyes with hints of silver?? Doesn't like being here either. Very suspicious of demons. Seems to like sweets for all meals. Teased by the others a lot (called chihuahua), poor thing. Seems harmless, but might not be - stay on guard. More intel required.  
> \- Other students seem to be an assortment of differently ranked demons, mostly more dudes. Don't seem to like me that much (nobody here does). Stay on guard. More intel required.


	4. Mirror, Mirror, Who's the Biggest TSL Fan of Them All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leviathan agrees to compete with Cinna about who knows more about TSL. Cinna finds herself feeling... confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A lot of this chapter is based around Lessons 3 and 4. Pardon for the length xD)

* * *

After Solomon left, Levi got up from his desk and went to grab some food for Henry 2.0. He couldn’t help wondering about the other human’s sudden interest in the TSL vinyl. “She must want it to try and distract Lucifer”, he muttered softly as he dropped some fish food into the tank. “Which means she wants to get up those stairs… Hah, good luck with that! None of us are allowed there, so why would a human be..? A weak, normie human…” 

Except that she didn’t exactly seem normie like. Levi thought back on his first encounter with the human. Though it’d been stupid of her to fall for Mammon distracting her, it’d been impressive that she’d actually _known_ about the figurines that scumbag had mentioned. And she’d known about TSL – the greatest series of all times – then _listened_ as he’d told her more about it: like, really listened. Levi’s face flushed as he recalled how intently the human had been looking at him with those weird, oddly colored eyes of hers. 

“No, no, no!” Levi slapped his hands to his cheeks and rubbed at them. “She must’ve had some ulterior motive for listening… Why would she..?” Her face had been so blank, too, completely without emotion… But her eyes! They’d had a twinkle in them, a hint of interest in what he was saying…

“Ahh, damn it.” The purple-haired man leaned his forehead to the tank as swirls of emotions whirled inside of him. The human looked kinda cool with those oddly-colored eyes, and tattoos… Levi pouted his lower lip as envy swirled inside of him. If only he could have looked as cool... 

But no, no. She was not cool! No. Levi bared his teeth. The human was so _stupid_ . Just as stupid as Mammon. She obviously had no idea of the danger she was in, and had no respect for _anyone_ : she’d talk back at demons, no matter what their rank, didn’t run away when threatened – instead she’d even challenge folks to fist fights. _What an absolute moron_. Like a human could stand a chance..! Not to mention that fool hadn’t exactly done a good job hiding from Lucifer why she was asking for Mammon’s greatest weakness, and just moments ago she’d been scolded by the scummy idiot on how she’d asked for the TSL vinyl so straightforwardly. Yet…

Levi watched as Henry swam around in the tank, opening his fish mouth with an empty look in his fish eyes. _Why shouldn’t I ask for it directly_ , Levi had heard the human snickering to Mammon behind the door. _There’s no point in beating around the bush, let alone go around lying or scheming._

“Stupid, both of them”, Levi murmured while also feeling a strange emotion flickering inside of him: appreciation that the human hadn’t bothered going for pretense. He quickly suppressed the feeling and snorted, tossing his hair off his eyes. “Yeah. They make a good pair.”

For some reason the thought irritated him a lot more than it should have.

He was still in a foul mood when he learned that the human had had a TSL marathon with Mammon _and_ Beel. First of all, Levi fumed inwardly, his own _brothers_ would’ve never done something like that with him… instead they would’ve been yawning, whining that it was so boring, finding other excuses, calling him a loser for liking a series so much and overall mocking his otaku lifestyle… Yet now they’d spent _12 hours_ in the human’s room. _Bet they didn’t even watch the show_ , Levi snickered. Beel must’ve been eating the whole time, and Mammon had probably gotten all perverted with the woman. She wasn’t the scumbag’s usual type at all, though…

Then those two fools challenged him to find out who was the biggest TSL fan. _Him_ ! Levi couldn’t believe their idiocy. Even if the human was already somewhat familiar with the series, there was no way she’d be able to beat him in TSL knowledge just because she had watched the _DVDs_ ! He had read the books several thousand times, from front to back and back to front, he’d watched _all_ the film adaptations, discussed the story and the characters on the forums, looked up articles… The thought of the human _normie_ knowing more about TSL than him made Levi seethe. It was so ridiculous! And so unfair! Levi’s lifestyle was a busy one: there were so many games to play, so many figurines to collect and organize… He simply didn’t have time for a marathon of _all_ TSL DVDs – unlike his normie brothers, and that pestilence of a human. 

But he’d accepted the challenge. He’d had no choice since his brothers had witnessed the scene _and_ the human had _taunted_ him – a demon! What insolence! Just further proof that there was no brain in that soft skull of hers. She’d asked if he was scared of her winning, then called him _a chicken_ . Just thinking back on how the human had stood there with her feet slightly apart and arms crossed and eyes blazing made Levi’s rage boil. His envy flared up, too: unlike him, she’d looked so cool… _Everyone_ had looked impressed by her challenging posture.

“No, no, no”, Levi muttered to himself, shaking his head. She was not cool at all! She was turning out to be a pest, just like Mammon. Suddenly calming down, the purple-haired demon smirked to himself. There was no way he’d lose to a normie, and a human normie at that! If she wanted to be humiliated and go down in flames, then so be it. Levi would be happy to deliver her demise…

And when she’d inevitably lose, he’d get to crush her. Literally. He was so certain of his own victory that he had even offered to form a pact with the human if she happened to win.

Of course the whole stupid thing had to be turned into a huge spectacle for everyone to watch, with an audience gathering in front of a stage at the Assembly Hall. Levi felt nervousness fluttering in the pit of his belly, not because he was afraid of losing to the idiot of a human, but because he wasn’t really used to being the center of attention like that…

Meanwhile the human woman looked calm: her expression betrayed none of her emotions, and her strange eyes had a cold glint in them. Her back was straight and she walked with a brisk gait that looked familiar to Levi somehow. Mammon stood next to her, looking oddly agitated. Maybe the human had forced him there with the power of the pact? The scumbag had mentioned something like that happening every now and then, though the human had said he was just imagining things. 

“All right, everyone!” Asmo spoke cheerfully into a mic, waving his hand gracefully at the audience. He was beaming as he strutted on the stage, winking his eye flirtatiously at times. “Finally, the wait is over! It’s time for Devil’s Trivia Showdown, the quiz show that pits demon against human!” There were some cheers and whistles as the audience clapped their hands. “Today our competitors will be testing their knowledge regarding a super-famous, super-popular fantasy series – _The Tale of the Seven Lords_!” The audience cheered and clapped loudly, just as they should have. “Now, here’s our two competitors! First, he’s a demon who freely admits to being a giant TSL nerd! Meeeeeeet Leviathaaaan!” Asmo gestured towards Levi.

Levi smiled and nodded as there were a few claps. “I am the G.O.A.T. None can oppose me!”

“Wow…” Asmo chuckled, rolling his eyes. “And his challenger claims to have been introduced to TSL only very recently after binge-watching the DVDs! Say hello to Cinna!”

To Levi’s surprise, and probably for everyone else’s too, the woman just smirked and saluted at the audience in a lazy fashion. Seeing that, Levi couldn’t help starting to laugh. “It’s too late to be getting cold feet now”, he told the woman. “There’s no turning back.”

“Who said I’m getting cold feet?” the human asked in a slightly hoarse voice, sounding amused. 

Levi snickered in contempt. “Nice try! But I’m going to crush you, destroy you, and vaporize you! When I’m finished, there will be nothing left!”

Asmo placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, yes… Serving as judge for today’s competition is our very own Demon Lord himself, Diavolo!” Smiling, Diavolo greeted the audience that erupted in whistles and cheers. Asmo frowned. “Color commentary will be provided by Satan, Avatar of Wrath. But a good commentator needs to keep a cool head. I wonder, is he really up to the task?”

As the audience cheered for him, Satan flashed a smile. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. So, I’m doing the commentary? That’s a lot of responsibility.”

“Hmmmh…” Asmo’s frown deepened. “Now, say hello to our guest demon, the always-famished Beelzebub!” The audience went wild again, and Asmo let out a sigh. “For his appearance fee, he requested to be compensated in cheeseburgers. How very Beel of him…”

Beel was of course already stuffing his compensation fee into his mouth. 

Asmo’s features lit up, and he took the center of the stage. “And your host for the day is none other than yours truly, Asmodeus. The demon who can make you swoon simply by whispering into your ear. You all know me, _you all love me_.”

“All right, enough”, Mammon snickered as he went to sit down next to Beel. “This is gettin’ ridiculous. Let’s get this show on the road!”

Levi licked at his lips quickly. He normally wouldn’t have agreed with his idiot brother, but Mammon was right. It was time to get started.

Thankfully Asmo got into it pretty quickly: the first question was thrown at Cinna. It was so simple Levi couldn’t help laughing. Even if the human hadn’t seen the DVDs, she still should’ve known the answer to a question _that_ easy! Levi frowned. In fact, all the questions for the human were _way easier_ than the ones asked from him… 

“Asmo, my questions are so easy for me that I’m ready to fall asleep here”, Levi couldn’t help groaning after a while. “Just how long are we going to keep this charade up? This is getting boring.”

“Yep, I agree”, Mammon snorted, smirking. “All right, Cinna, it’s time to pull out the big guns! Let’s see how Levi here likes your trump card!” Mammon’s smirk widened as his eyes met with Levi’s.

“Well, well, interesting”, Diavolo murmured.

Levi’s heart started pounding a little faster. What could’ve those two possibly come up with to use as a ‘trump card’? There was no one with more extensive knowledge about TSL as he had! There was no way they’d actually have something to use against _him_. So when Asmo asked him how he felt about the turn of events, Levi just laughed.

But the human and Mammon were both smirking. The human’s eyes shone like steel as she then claimed to know the major plot developments of the as-of-yet unreleased TSL Volume 9.

* * *

_The other brothers had been right. The purple-haired dude just_ snapped _as he was told that what I had just revealed to him was not hogwash or random bullshit made up by myself. The mere thought that I could’ve been a bigger TSL fan than him made him so enraged with envy that he took on his demon form, emitting a dark, purple aura about him._

_At first I stared at his changed form in awe: he had antlers on his head and some sort of diamond-like markings on his neck and chest, and… a tail. That tail was swishing angrily as orange eyes glared at me._

_“Cinna!” Mammon yelped, getting up from his seat. “Run! Get out of here!”_

_But I gritted my teeth together and took up a defensive boxer’s stance just as the purple-haired dude got ready to charge at me. I was about to respond to the attack when suddenly there were feathers on my face: something pushed me back so hard I fell down on my ass – I quickly placed my hand behind me on the floor to lessen the impact, but the angle wasn’t that great. I could immediately feel pain shot up my arm as the wrist got sprained. Grimacing, I glanced up to see who had pushed me._

_It was the black-haired man, and he too had taken on his demon form. My eyes widened in awe as I looked at him. He had four black wings, and horns that slightly curled up from his head. “You’re out of control, Levi.” His voice was a tad deeper than usual._

_Everyone started murmuring restlessly. By what I could tell, they were all surprised that the black-haired man had stepped in between me and the enraged otaku. To save me. A mere human. I glared at the man’s back._ Arrogant bastard _, I thought as I scrambled up, doing my best to hide the fact that my wrist wasn’t doing that hot, grinding my teeth together. It’d taken me a while to realize why he annoyed me so much, but now seeing him standing above me like that I finally got it._

_He reminded me of—_

_Suddenly someone started gagging, and Beelzebub wheezed: “...food… caught in throat…”_

_“Levi, go back to your room and cool off”, ordered Lucifer just as Satan started whacking his orange-haired brother on the back. When Leviathan didn’t move, Lord Diavolo chimed in, and that’s when the purple-hair finally got a move on._

_Diavolo then decided the competition ended in a tie, and we were told to scatter. I was relieved at the thought of getting to my room to bandage myself up, and to be alone – I’d forgotten how nerve-wrecking standing on a stage with everyone staring could be. But as I got to my room and was about to start wrapping a bandage around my wrist, Mammon barged in: he’d started doing that since the movie marathon, coming in uninvited, without knocking, even leaving his stuff behind there._

_“What’s that for?” the white-hair demanded to know. He was quickly by my side, his royal-blue eyes with a hint of gold or yellow studying my wrist. He frowned. “Oh, right. Ya fell pretty badly on your butt, huh? Sprained your wrist, too… Seriously, could you be any more of a klutz?”_

_“Hmh. You humans really are way less physically capable than us demons”, said Beelzebub as he marched into the room. “That’s because they don’t eat enough. And unlike us, they don’t eat the right things.”_

_“How ‘bout you both learn how to knock?” I snickered, sighing. The orange-hair had started visiting my room as well, looking for snacks. And ‘right things’, my ass! Thank fuck I’d learned long ago not to be too picky about what was put in front of me: sustenance is sustenance, and I was better off not knowing what I was eating during my time in the Devildom._

_“Stop tying everything to food, Beel!” Mammon snorted while picking up the bandages. “Actually, why’re you even here, anyway? Seems to me that you’ve been spendin’ an awful lot of time here ever since the night of the DVD marathon.” As he spoke, the white-hair attempted to wrap the bandage around my wrist. I just stared at his awkward movements in silence, struggling as surprise and anger raged within me. Were his hands shaking..?_

_“Well, so have you.” Beelzebub chuckled. “I mean, you’ve even left a cell phone charger here. And a toothbrush, too. That’s how much you’re over here.”_

_Blushing, Mammon stammered that it was just his job to look after me. “I can look after myself!” I snapped, trying to pull my hand free from him. He was surprisingly strong, though, and wouldn’t let go._

_Beelzebub chuckled again. “Mammon, you’re doing a terrible job with those bandages…”_

_“Hey, shut up!” the white-hair grunted at his brother, yanking my hand back towards himself. “I’ve never had to wrap someone’s wrist before, okay? I don’t know how it works!” His cheeks were crimson._

_“I know”, I said through my teeth. “I’ve plenty of experience. So—”_

_“Oi, Beel! Isn’t that MY pizza slice you’ve got there in your hand?!”_

_I saw from the corner of my eye how the orange-hair turned towards the door. “I’m going to get some soda.”_

_“Hey, Beel! You put down one of those slices you’re holdin’ right now! HEY!” Mammon sighed in frustration. “There he goes… Man, my life would be easier if they just listened to me…”_

_I glared at him. “I know the feeling_ all too well _.”_

 _The white-hair’s eyes shifted to the side. “Ah, um, by the way… There’s somethin’ I want you to know. Listen.” He threw me a glance, then closed his eyes. “The next time your life’s in danger,_ I’m _gonna be the one to save you, all right? Don’t you forget that.”_

_My jaw dropped. “...what?”_

_Mammon looked me in the eyes. His grip on my hand suddenly tightened. “And if I can’t manage to save ya, then make sure you die. Got it?!”_

_Awestruck, I leaned back a little, blinking rapidly. Just wh—_

_“I don’t want no one else steppin’ in and savin’ you, all right?!_ It’s me or no one, understand _?!”_

_“Why?!” I tried to pull my hand free again. Feelings I couldn't name right then fluttered inside of me. “Where the fuck is this coming from?!”_

_The dude got flustered, closing his eyes as he stammered: “B-because… ya know, it’s my JOB!”_

_“You didn’t care about that before!” I sneered just as my D.D.D. started ringing. We stared at each other for a good while. Slowly with my free hand, I fished out the device from a pocket and glanced down at the screen. Seeing who it was, I lifted a brow, then answered the call. “What now?” I listened to the voice on the other of the line, noticing that Mammon was watching me intently. Feeling a strange flutter in my chest, I turned my head. “Sure, got it”, I responded to the caller. “Yeah I know the place. See you in a bit.”_

_“It was Levi, wasn’t it?” Mammon squeezed my fingers. “Don’t go. It’s a trap.”_

_“Hands off already, or do I have to use the pact on you?” I immediately felt a sting of guilt at the threat, but it worked. He was quick to release his grip on me finally. I let out a sigh as I first unwrapped the bandage around my wrist, then wrapped it back so it gave enough support to my hand without cutting off the blood circulation._

_Mammon looked impressed. “Wow, you really know how to do that.”_

_I pointed a finger at him. “Listen, buddy. I might be a mere human to y’all, but I can look after myself. Always have and always will. So, I’m going to see what he wants.” Mammon opened his mouth to speak, and I lifted a finger. “Whatever happens, happens. Besides, I doubt he’s going to attack me, not after both Lucifer and Lord Diavolo got on his case earlier. And while I’m away…” I made a move as if to poke Mammon on the chest, and he flinched back, blushing. “Do not touch anything in my room. In fact, both you and your brother should go back to your own rooms.”_

_Then I dashed out, heading out to the Planetarium. My heart drummed faster._ God, damnit, the fuck had that all been about? _Why was Mammon suddenly so… Possessive? It must have been the pact. I rubbed at my chest, blushing as I thought about how the white-hair had started to spend more time with me…_

_While constantly complaining about it. My cheeks burned hotter. Yeah, like hell a guy looking like that would’ve wanted to be seen with someone like me had it not been for the damn pact. I forced myself to shift my thoughts to the meeting up ahead. If only I had had my gear, I could’ve actually felt more confident. Despite what I had just told Mammon, I was actually pretty sure I might get killed in the next few minutes. At first the thought felt relieving: at least then this miserable exchange would end._

—doesn’t end in our deaths

_My hand went for the chain around my neck, grabbing at the dog-tags. Right. This was Hell or the Devildom or whatever, after all. Dying didn't necessarily mean freedom from these guys..._

_Leviathan was already waiting for me, looking pissed off. But at least he wasn’t in his demon form anymore. Still, I shouldn't let my guard down._

_“Took you long enough”, he grumbled. “When I call for you, you need to come right away, understand?” I was about to tell him that he wasn’t my boss or anything when he suddenly smiled, chuckling. “Like the way Henry races over whenever his best friend Lord of Shadow calls on him.” I blinked, and the purple-hair’s smile faded. “Don’t get me wrong”, he mumbled, shifting himself in unease. “I’m not saying you and I are best friends or anything. As if! So, do you know why I called you here?” Levi slipped his hands to his pockets._

_I lifted up my arms. “Beats me, to be honest.”_

_He sighed. “All right, look. Here’s the thing. We decided to have that competition to see who was the bigger TSL fan. And I… I told you that if you won, then I’d enter into a pact with you.”_

_I have to admit, I got taken by surprise so badly that I swayed slightly like he had just hit me. “...what?” I couldn’t help blurting out. “But I didn’t even—”_

_“That trump card of yours was such a dirty trick”, Levi cut me off, pouting. “But a promise is a promise. It really kills me to do this… But, I’ll keep my end of the bargain.” A slight smile curled up Leviathan’s lips. “I’ll do it. I’ll make a pact with you.”_

_For the first time since my arrival to the Devildom, I felt actual panic that was pretty close to fear. Should I tell him it was okay not to form a pact with me? That all I really wanted was the damn TSL vinyl?_

_Before I could say anything, I felt a familiar tingling sensation on my right inner thigh._ Oh _. The pact had been made… I resisted the urge to rub at the spot where the pact mark had formed._ For fuck’s sake, another weird spot. _But, I’d gotten what I’d wanted: the vinyl was now in my hands._

_Time to hand it to Lucifer and then go up those damn stairs._

* * *


	5. Keep It All Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Satan has a few serious words with Cinna, who experiences a moment of despair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for slight self-harm.

* * *

“Ahh, Cinna!” Satan called out when he spotted the human woman going down the stairs that led to the RAD cafeteria. She turned her head slightly, halting as she waited for him to catch up with her. The woman’s pale face was blank as usual, and her mismatched eyes gleamed coldly. She had replaced her RAD uniform skirt with a pair of trousers, Satan noticed, deciding against commenting about the clothes. Instead he smiled at Cinna. The topic had already been touched at breakfast, but… “Well? Did you really manage to get up those stairs?”

Something flashed in Cinna’s eyes. Satan could tell that she was pondering whether to tell him or not. Then she shrugged. “Yeah.” Her voice was hoarse.

Just like he’d thought. Satan nodded firmly. “Scared of what Lucifer might do to you now?”

The woman thought for a moment, then shrugged again. “Not really.”

Satan couldn’t help frowning. “Hmm… You knew it’d be potentially dangerous to get Levi all worked up with envy, yet you went for it anyway. And you knew it’d displease Lucifer to go investigate the attic. And now you claim you’re not afraid of him? Either you’re lying, or…” Satan’s eyes dropped down to her neck, where he could catch a glimpse of the thin metal chain she always carried there: the end of the chain was hidden under her shirt, but he had started to get an idea of what was there.

The woman’s hand went to her chest, as if reaching for the chain, but lowered down quickly. “Or what?”

Satan straightened his back, pursing his lips together. Something stirred inside of him, bubbling like water that was about to start boiling in a cauldron. He struggled for a moment to suppress the emotion her arrogant tone had caused. “You don’t seem that afraid of us demons – either you’re as stupid as Mammon, or you’ve become accustomed to danger back in the human world.” The blond-haired man studied the woman’s features carefully. “Which is it?”

The human just glared at him blankly, but her eyes were flashing, revealing that his words had put her in turmoil. For some reason Cinna reached for her right thigh, a gesture she often seemed to do in an absent-minded fashion, but she quickly pulled her hand off the leg and crossed her arms, lifting her chin. “I don’t like talking about it.”

Satan knitted his brows together. “You say that, yet you go around poking around your nose into  _ our _ family affairs, sneaking around in  _ our _ house.” He placed a hand to his chest and took a step closer to the woman.

She leaned slightly back, but otherwise refused to move, let alone cower in fear.  _ How annoyingly insolent _ . Satan’s nostrils picked up a whiff of anger in the woman’s scent, and he smirked shortly before taking up a more serious expression again. “Even if you’re just trying to do your best to survive here, Cinna, you really should show more respect to us. You shouldn’t get so cocky just because you’ve managed to form pacts with two of us already – like Asmo told you before, it’s insulting how you look down on us like that. Not to mention…”

He wasn’t usually the type to touch people, but now Satan placed a hand on the human’s shoulder and stared her deep in the eyes. He could see the vein on her neck: it was pulsing with her quickened heartbeat. Was she finally scared of him? “I may not love my brothers that much, but if you mistreat them in any way or cause them any harm…” Satan allowed himself to smile widely. “ _ I will kill you _ .”

He patted the human on the shoulder, then pulled his hand back. “Oh, and don’t get me wrong”, said Satan while shaking his hand like he’d just touched something disgusting. He grabbed at his chin, smiling widely again. “I don’t actually care about your past or how much you keep nosing around. In fact, you doing so annoys Lucifer, which satisfies me. I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to my brothers.” Satan frowned, and his cheeks flushed as his anger whirled up from deep within himself. “It took us a long time to gain our current position among the other demons here in the Devildom, Cinna. I will not let you disrespect us in a way that could jeopardize our reputation.”

The bell started ringing loudly. The maelstrom inside of him died down, and Satan chuckled. “Well, classes are about to start. Shall we go?”

* * *

_ The moment the scalding hot water started battering my shoulders and back, I hugged my knees to my chest and buried my face in them, bursting into tears. Strong sobs shook my body as I rocked myself back forth on the bathroom floor, breathing through my mouth as the nostrils got clogged up. To keep myself from howling out loud, I bit my teeth into the knees, whining. Everything… was going to shit… I slapped a hand to my right thigh, wailing silently against my knee as the fingernails dug into the scar tissue that had formed there. I clawed at it, tearing at the skin. Everything… hurt…  _

_ I dug my fingers deeper into my thigh. Everywhere I went in the Devildom, I was met with some level of hostility or suspicion. Hatred.  _ Aren’t you scared,  _ I kept getting asked. But even if I had been, I couldn’t have let them see it. I couldn’t let them see  _ anything _. It was just like  _ back then:  _ any sign of weakness in front of these guys, and I’d be a goner. If anyone of them realized that I was… that I…  _

_ My chest heaved as I tried to breathe. Part of me realized I was about to start hyperventilating. Being on my guard 24/7 was becoming exhausting, and I was losing hope of finding my own way out of the Devildom. Maybe I’d never get to go back home at all. My lower lip trembled. And no one back there would miss me…  _ I’m not going to survive a year here _. The mere thought made my throat feel tight. _

_ Then, just as quickly as the breakdown had started, it just stopped.  _

_ The raging sea of emotions inside of me calmed down, though I could feel the storm still simmering under the now serene surface.  _ _ Sniffing my stuffy nose and clearing my throat to spit out the mucus that had gathered there, I straightened my back and leaned the back of my head to the wall tiles, resting the elbows to my knees. Slowly, I shook my head and allowed my gaze to wander in the bathroom as I started putting together the pieces of information I had collected so far about the Devildom and the demons. I recalled my visit to the attic. _

_ A dude had been locked up there. Supposedly a human, but… I clicked my tongue. There was something about the situation that reminded me of events from the TSL series: the Lord of Corruption had locked up the Lord of Emptiness in a tower… or something like that. The dude had begged me to help him. To let him out. I remembered in a flash how Lucifer had told me to focus on just surviving my year in the Devildom. How the attic dude’s voice had sounded familiar… Though I had agreed to help him, something about him put me on my guard: I could sense he wasn’t exactly honest with me, and his eyes… _

_ They had looked strikingly like Beelzebub’s. _

_ My thoughts shifted on my conversation with Satan. I then allowed myself to think of my own brothers for a while. My hand reached for the dog-tags that hung around my neck. The way the demon brothers kept bickering at each other, bullying even… Though I had a hunch that there was something deeper going on between them, some ancient hurt that hadn’t healed properly, the House of Lamentation felt like… a familiar environment.  _ Can’t you take a joke, girlie _? The way I was treated reminded me of how newbies would get hazed.  _

_ My thumb rubbed at the etching of the helmet on one side of a dog-tag. I’d originally planned to exploit their bad relations against each other and get myself back in the human world before the exchange year was over, but… I toyed with the dog-tag, chewing on my lip. Maybe Satan was right… maybe I should’ve shown them a little more respect… _

_ I let out a sigh and scratched at the pact mark that decorated my inner thigh of the right leg, while massaging the other mark over my heart. But what for, exactly? It wasn’t like respecting them would’ve made them respect  _ me _ in return. I got up from the floor and turned off the shower. Not to mention I had no need to try and impress them, either: I didn’t need these demons to like me. _

_ Yet it stung to think that they loathed me. Then, remembering Mammon on the phone with some witch rushing to do her bidding, my anger simmered.  _

_ I closed my eyes as my jealousy-fueled imagination started running wildly. I grimaced. As if they’d do stuff like that with me… And even if they did, once they’d get what they’d want from me, whatever that could be, they’d laugh at me then toss me aside. Ridicule or belittle me. Mammon was already doing that sort of shit at times, getting flirty and kind in one moment and then… _

_ Besides, they all had  _ issues _. Some pretty deep-rooted ones, too.  _ And _ they were really attractive and famous, drawing attention to themselves wherever they went. I didn’t need any more attention to myself than I already had, being  _ the _ exchange student and whatshit. I wanted to remain a nobody. _

[Do you really] _ , a voice whispered in the back of my head. _

_ I brushed the voice aside and forced my thoughts back on my plan. Maybe freeing the dude up from the attic could be the  _ real  _ key to my own freedom..? Opening my eyes, I reached for a towel. Something had me glancing down at my leg.  _

_ “Oh, shit! Ah, fuck!”  _

_ I’d just finished bandaging up the thigh when my D.D.D. rang. It was Mammon, demanding that I join him in the kitchen. Immediately irritated, and knowing that if I didn’t go then he’d storm into my room, I got dressed and headed out. My thigh throbbed so badly I struggled to walk normally, but I couldn’t let anyone notice there was something up with my leg.  _ Do not show any weaknesses. _ “What now?” I hissed when I saw the white-haired dude by the fridge.  _

_ “Ohh, that was fast. Good human! Here.” Mammon got up and shoved his hand towards my face. _

_ I jerked my head back. “The fuck?” I eyed his finger in suspicion: it was covered in some thick white stuff that looked like— _

_ “Custard. Have a taste, Cinna.” Mammon moved his hand even closer to my face. _

_ I caught a glimpse of the jar he was holding, recognizing it immediately. If I hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with the custard earlier, seeing the label on the jar made me turn my head away even more adamantly. “No!” _

_ “C’mon”, murmured Mammon. _

_ My cheeks flushed at the strange tone in his voice. And the way his eyes had shimmered when he’d looked at me just a few seconds ago… My heart drummed when I recalled the short-lived thoughts about him and his brothers I’d had back in the shower.  _ It’s the effects of the pact, it’s the effects of the—

_ Mammon chuckled, and the sound caused butterflies to flutter in the pit of my belly. I found myself staring into his blue eyes, noticing how the golden hue in them seemed to glow more strongly, as if greedily. “We’re already both in trouble for messing with—” _

_ “MY CUSTARD _ !”

* * *


	6. When Things Get Unbearable, We Might Start Shifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some changes with the sleeping arrangements. Asmo has a short-lived moment of panic, but then he discovers something that fascinates him. Cinna wishes someone would give her directions. Luke goes missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on Lessons 4 and 5, with slight alterations for creative purposes.
> 
> Deepest apologies for the length, ahahaha.... Whoops.

* * *

After all the noise caused by Beel’s rampage, the silence that ensued afterwards was so deep that Asmo could feel his ears start ringing. Even the Little Ds looking after the house had gathered to inspect the damages. Nobody dared to move or make a sound: everyone’s eyes were focused on the destruction that had befallen on their kitchen. The room next to it was without a wall – Cinna’s room. 

Even from a few feet away, Asmo could sense Lucifer was bristling with rage. It was a miracle their older brother had managed to push his demon form aside after subduing Beel. The hunky orange-hair stood still with his broad shoulders hunched, and his handsome face crunched in a frown as he wrung his hands together. Next to him stood a stunned-looking Cinna with a shaky Mammon by her side. All three were covered in dust and dirt, yet somehow they all looked very attractive – especially Beel and Cinna. Asmo clasped his hands together as he stared at them intently. The woman’s hair looked damp, and it hadn’t been braided. 

“You.” The word barely managed to get out from between Lucifer’s perfect teeth. His dark eyes smoldering in red were focused on the human. The woman stared back at him blankly, with her rosy lips slightly parted. “Ever since you came here, Cinna, it seems to me you’re in the middle of whatever chaos occurs… It’s like you have no regard for your own safety at all.”

Cinna shifted herself a little. Her oddly-colored eyes flashed: they had a weird glint in them, and her pupils were small. “Told you, danger is my second name.” The corner of Cinna’s lip twitched upwards. “Trouble is the third.”

Lucifer scoffed, placing a hand to his chest. “Do you find this funny?”

“Oh hell no”, the woman replied at once, but she looked like she was about to burst into laughter. She was trembling, too. Poor thing must’ve been freaking out from fright.  _ About time, too _ , Asmo thought: he’d been wondering when the human would crack under all the pressure. In fact, the woman must’ve gone insane – no one in their right mind would’ve talked or behaved like that in front of a powerful demon such as the Avatar of Pride!

While Lucifer was lecturing the three, Asmo squirmed as he started studying Cinna’s features more carefully. Mhmh, to get to gaze into those eyes… Oh, to get to brush his finger on the scar under her left eye… using a lotion that would help in making it fade away, perfecting her complexion… Ah, with some make-up and more fashionable clothes, she’d look a real stunner..! 

“Until the kitchen and Cinna’s room are fixed”, Lucifer’s voice suddenly cut through Asmo’s daydreams; “as a punishment for you all, Cinna is to share a room with Beel.”

“Huh!? What!? Why?” Mammon erupted at once. His cheeks went red. He gestured wildly towards his own room. “My room is just as—” 

“Don't make me repeat myself”, Lucifer sneered as a smirk crept up on his lips. “And you are all responsible for all our meals until the repairs are done. Understood?” 

Beel looked heart-wrenchingly adorable as he put his hand on his stomach. “But Lucifer…” Asmo saw Beel throw a glance at Cinna, whose eyes shifted in his direction as well.

“I won’t hear any complaints. And  _ no  _ eating the human, Beel.”

Beel hung his head. “Yes, Lucifer.”

“And  _ you _ .” Lucifer eyed Cinna. He shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say to you, other than that I’m disappointed. Lord Diavolo has such high hopes for you, but you’re turning out to be as troublesome and scummy as Mammon.”

Something flashed in the human’s eyes. Her jaw set firmly. “Sorry”, she muttered softly, turning her head a little.

Her awkward apology made Lucifer blink, as if in surprise. Then their oldest brother told them all to go back to sleep. Nobody moved at first, but when Lucifer let out an annoyed grunt-like sound, everyone scurried. Asmo threw a glance over his shoulder to see Cinna walking away with Beel, and Mammon stormed out of the view with stiff, hunched shoulders and hands in tight fists.

“Hmm…” Asmo chuckled to himself. “Ah, so that’s why…”

“What?”

Asmo turned towards Levi, who looked puzzled and annoyed.  _ Is he jealous of Beel’s luck as well _ ? “Haven’t you noticed? Mammon has been showing an awful lot of interest in the human recently… Even going as far as calling her  _ his _ human.”

“It’s true”, murmured Satan, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. “Despite all that complaining, Mammon can’t seem to resist being around Cinna.”

“Hrmm…” Levi made a grumbling noise. “I guess it makes a little bit more sense, then. Still, it seems a little risky to put her in the same room as  _ Beel _ . What if he eats her!?”

“Oh, I’d  _ eat _ her too”, Asmo giggled, and both of his brothers groaned in frustration. “But Levi, I didn’t quite expect  _ you _ of all people to start worrying about the human’s safety, too.” He reached out his hand and pinched at his brother’s cheek. Levi flinched away, blushing, and immediately started stammering how he wasn’t worried at all about some normie human, that he was loyally devoted to his one-and-only 2D dream-girl Ruri-chan.

But there was a strange glistening in his eyes as he spoke. Asmo chuckled knowingly at Levi’s obvious confused mental turmoil about the matter.

The human was starting to turn out to be quite interesting, he pondered as he settled back onto his bed. She was really rattling up Asmo’s brothers, causing delightful confusion and chaos… Asmo glanced out of the window. The skies were clear, the moon was pale and bright. Hmm. Asmo rolled on his side, curling up. A shiver went through him when he remembered how he’d tried to charm the human woman with his eyes… Strangely enough, the charm hadn’t worked at all. 

In fact… Asmo pouted. She didn’t seem that interested in him, which was unusual considering how gorgeous he was. Was she blind!? Or just as stupid as Mammon…  _ Anyone _ should have been swooning in the presence of the Avatar of Lust, especially when that someone was nothing but a basic human with no extraordinary looks herself..! His cheeks burning with frustration, Asmo shut his eyes tightly. She was so insulting towards them all, especially him…  _ Everyone _ loved him, so why..?

Or maybe she was too scared to show her real emotions. A smile crept on Asmo’s lips as he shifted himself. Yes… Deep down, she must’ve found him attractive, but was embarrassed to show it… No, she seemed completely incapable of showing much emotions at all to anyone about anything… But he  _ would _ seduce the human, one way or another – before she’d go back to the human world, he’d make her fall for himself… just like all the others fell for… Asmo drifted into sleep. 

Breakfast was a rather grim affair: the ingredients weren’t many, and the mood was in the dumps. Lucifer’s eyes were narrowed to thin slits, Mammon was impaling his food with excessive force, Levi was focused on some game on his phone, Satan was immersed in a book, and Beel looked pale and upset. He wasn’t even trying to steal other people’s foods as normal. Cinna’s face was paler than usual, too, and she seemed a little… worn out.

“So”, Asmo chirped, batting his eyelashes at her. “How’d last night go?”

Beel’s frown deepened. “I could barely sleep… Her snoring was so loud.”

“Hey!” Cinna snapped just as Asmo gasped: “She snores?!”

“How un-lady-like”, grumbled Mammon, his cheeks going pink when the woman turned her head to glare at him.

“If you’re done eating”, Lucifer spoke up; “then head out to your classes already.”

Over the next few days, the mood at the House of Lamentation remained rather tense and chilly. The human seemed colder and more distant than ever, and rejected Asmo’s offers of spending some relaxing time together. The insolence was infuriating – unbearable! He’d just tried to be nice to her by gracing her mundane, pathetic life with the presence of someone as amazing as himself… Asmo felt a flutter of panic: was his charm completely fading? He examined himself carefully from a mirror. Had he become unattractive somehow? But as he went out to lavish parties and gatherings, everyone else looked at him with their eyes shining in admiration, seeking his attention, praising his looks and how flawless he always was. 

In other words, the human was just a blind idiot. But he’d make her see – eventually the human would fall for him, just like everyone else did. 

Since things were so stressful at home, Asmo made sure to take even better care of his skin and hair than usual, bathing in rose water and petals. To escape the atmosphere, Asmo spent a bit more time with Solomon and even the angels, went for a therapeutic shopping spree, and partied with witches, incubi and succubi. He noticed Mammon was out a lot, as well, gambling and dancing with his witches, but that wasn’t surprising at all.

What  _ was _ surprising was to hear from one of the succubi that  _ Cinna _ had been in town, too, all by herself. The succubus expressed her concern about the human, saying that Cinna had drunk  _ a lot _ of Demonus before joining the dancefloor. 

“How was her dancing?” Asmo couldn’t help inquiring, his intrigue towards the human growing. She really must have been insane, going around the Devildom by herself like that.

“Quite enthralling for a human of her proportions”, said the succubus. “Which is exactly why she shouldn’t do that alone again. We all respect Lord Lucifer, but someone might get tempted to try something with the human.”

“Hmm… ‘Someone’... like you?” Asmo teased, running a finger up the succubus’ neck, then down to her chest.

The succubus giggled, which made her bosom jiggle. “My sisters are very jealous of her for getting to live with you brothers”, she murmured in a huskier voice, her eyes darkening. “I’d be delighted to be introduced to her…”

* * *

_ It was strange, sharing a room with someone again. I kept my eyes closed as I listened to Beelzebub working out on the floor. It was tempting to catch a glimpse of him – dude was ripped – but instead I snuggled my face deeper into the pillow, keeping my breathing steady as if I was still asleep. _

_ The past few days had been… well. The first night I’d spent in the room, Beelzebub had told me a little bit more about his family: it was a little surprising, considering that he’d originally told me their family business was none of mine, but maybe he was feeling guilty about destroying my room so he had felt like talking. I’d found out that there had been an eighth sibling, their sister – Lilith. Hearing the name made something inside me shudder. _

_ Then Beelzebub had told me about their seventh brother, the one that had been sent to the human world for the exchange program. The one that had had a falling out of sorts with Lucifer. Beelzebub’s twin. _

_ Remembering how the dude up in the attic had had exactly the same-colored eyes as Beelzebub, I shivered, rolling onto my back. My hands curled into tight fists as I thought back on how I’d been shown a picture of the seventh brother, and how I’d gone back up in the attic to have a word with its occupant.  _ Belphegor. _ Not long after, I’d overheard a conversation between Lucifer and Beelzebub about him. _

_ I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, my thoughts whirling as I tried to make sense of things. If only someone else had been there to analyze the situation for me… to tell me how to proceed…  _

_ “Ah, Cinna. You’re awake.” _

_ “Sorta”, I croaked, then stretched out my arms. “Is it time to go make breakfast yet..?” _

_ “Hmh. Aren’t you going to work out, too?” _

_ “Not today.” I tossed the blanket aside and put my feet on the floor. Yawning and scratching at my side, I got up, got dressed, then headed out. _

_ Later, when I was coming back from RAD, I ran into Luke. The kid-sized angel looked a little frantic. “Cinna! Thank goodness…” _

_ I arched a brow. “What’s up, buddy?” _

_ “Can I stay in your room tonight?” _

_ I blinked. “Err…” Luke went on explaining that something had occurred between him and the other angel, Simeon, and he could no longer stay in the Purgatory Hall. Listening to him, I started scratching at my cheek. Once he finished, I let out a sigh. “Well, see. I kinda don’t have a room right now…” _

_ “Eh? What do you mean?” When I was done giving him the summary of the most recent events, the small angel pouted. His eyes were flashing. “Those horrible demons… causing you so much trouble… But, I can’t exactly stay here either!” Luke suddenly clutched to my jacket: poor thing was trembling. “And you, too. You shouldn’t be out here all by yourself!” _

_ “I can handle myself, buddy”, I said calmly, gently detaching him from my jacket. “Listen, let’s go ask about Beelzebub what he thinks of this. It’s his room, after all.” _

_ The orange-hair wasn’t exactly happy about the angel showing up, saying that there could be trouble if Lucifer found out. That Asmodeus and Mammon had a habit of trying to sneak in witches, and that always made Lucifer really mad. Hearing about the witches with Mammon caused a twinge of irritation within me, but I quickly suppressed it. Let him frolic with the witches and succubi and whatever else to his heart’s content – I couldn’t have cared less. _

_ “Just for a couple of nights”, Luke begged. “Please.” _

_ I happened to exchange a glance with Beelzebub. “Your call, buddy”, I said. _

_ He sighed. “Fine. But you must be really quiet.” _

_ Of course Luke couldn’t keep quiet. He kept complaining about having to be in the Devildom, how he was concerned I’d get corrupted (I wanted to laugh out loud), and how Simeon was being too friendly with Diavolo. As he ranted about his dislike for the demons, I had to kindly remind him that Beelzebub was present, and that the orange-hair had been friendly enough to let him stay the night. That shut the little angel up for a while.  _

_ The following morning we discovered a new problem with the arrangement: we needed to get Luke some food. So, at breakfast both me and Beelzebub didn’t eat a whole lot, and instead collected an assortment of breakfast items to take back into his room with us. This apparently made Lucifer really suspicious of us, ‘cause next thing we knew he was going from room to room for a surprise inspection. Beelzebub was quick to shove Luke into a closet for hiding, but once Lucifer had left we opened the closet to let the angel dude out… _

_ And he wasn’t there. _

_ We rummaged through the closet frantically, but couldn’t find him.  _

_ “You saw me shove him in there, didn’t you?” Beelzebub asked me, looking upset. _

_ “Maybe he used some sorta angel powers and is somewhere else now?” _

_ Beelzebub blinked at me, but then nodded slowly. “Right. We should look around the house for him, before the others discover him. It could be bad.” _

_ So we split up to start searching, agreeing to meet up in front of his room in an hour. Neither of us could find Luke. Satan passed by, wondering at what we were doing: I bit on my lip, and Beelzebub just looked away. Satan sighed, saying he wanted nothing to do with whatever it was, and left. _

_ It was then that I noticed the doll house. “What’s that?” _

_ “Oh, that? It’s an exact replica of the House of Lamentation.” _

_ I pointed a finger at one of the rooms. “Have we checked this room here yet?” _

_ “What room?” Beelzebub came to stand by my side. The warmth from his body lapped at me, and I shuddered. Dude was a walking heat radiator… “Hmm, the replica must be incorrect after all… There isn’t one in the real house there. I know it, since it should be right next to Lucifer’s, but there’s no room there.” _

_ I rubbed at my chin. “Maybe there  _ is _ a room there, but you just haven’t known about it.” _

_ “Huh? Like, a secret room?” Beelzebub started inspecting the replica more closely, then the wall next to Lucifer’s room. “Looks like you were right, Cinna.” He pointed at something on the wall. “There’s an inscription here, in the language of the angels… and I know what it means.” He murmured a few words, and then a door appeared where a door hadn’t been before. “Let’s go.” _

_ As we entered through the door, Beelzebub gasped. “I know this room..! It’s Lilith’s… from the Celestial Realm..!” _

_ Glancing around, I crossed my arms, hugging myself tightly as I suddenly felt a chill go down my spine. “Lilith… your sister, right?” My hand went to my dog-tags, tugging at the metal chain. “Why would her room be here..?” _

_ Beelzebub said nothing, just went around the room for a while in silence. His eyes were flashing with a range of emotions, but he kept his lips pursed to a thin line. Finally he turned to face me, wringing his hands together. _

_ And then he started telling me about the Celestial War. How Lilith’s wing had been hit by an arrow, and she’d started falling. And Beelzebub had had to make a choice between saving his sister… or his twin. _

_ Listening to him, I felt my heart melting, aching, shriveling. My plans to use the brothers’ strained relations against them to get myself out of the Devildom faster crumbled, shattering as I realized how deep the hurts between them ran. They really did hide their personal pains behind their assigned sins...  _

_ As I looked at Beelzebub while he talked, I quickly reassessed my opinion about him: despite appearing nothing but a jock of a glutton, he was actually really… His thoughts and emotions ran deeper than he allowed anyone to see. His guilt about the death of his sister and the concern that his beloved twin would forever blame him for it was so palpable that my chest started hurting. I just wanted to wrap my arms around him, tell him it’d be okay, that from now on I’d—  _

_ Beelzebub’s gaze met with mine. “What would you have done, Cinna?” The question hit me like a ton of bricks, making me shudder. “If you had been in that situation…” _

Screams. A hand reaching out to me. A voice telling me that it was pointless, that we should just run.  _ My eyes widened, and my grip on the dog-tags tightened. “I—” _

_ Just then my D.D.D. started ringing. The sudden shrill sound had me jumping. Shaking, my heart thundering fast, I picked up the phone. It was Mammon. I groaned. “Uuugh, what now!?” _

_ “You should probably answer it.” _

_ Sighing, I did so. The moment the call got connected, Mammon started yelling at me. “Wait, wait, wait, slow down”, I had to say at some point. “What about the underground tomb and Lucifer?” _

_ “ _ He’s going to kill the dog! Hurry! _ ” _

_ “Dog? What do— HEY!” The call was cut off. I glared at the screen. Then I looked up at Beelzebub. “Luke”, we said at the same time.  _

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My focus for writing has been sorta shattered lately because I was contacted by a recruiter of a major tech company, had an initial interview with them, and tomorrow I have another interview with them. If I do get this job, then I'm going to be really really busy as it'd require relocating to a different country and I'm just freaking out--- Ugh I should be preparing for the interview but I'm too scatterbrained even for that---
> 
> Buuuut I do know how I want things to proceed with chapter 10 and onwards... ;) 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has read the story so far, and for each kudos and comment too! Much appreciated~ I will keep updating and writing as much as I just can. :)


	7. Guilty Reflexes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beel and Cinna rush to save Luke from Lucifer. Cinna has a change of heart about the brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on Lesson 6.

* * *

Beel took the lead as the two of them rushed out of the secret room.  _ Lilith’s room _ . His heart drummed fast. Emotions sloshed inside of him like soup in a cauldron. But there was no time to think about the room right now, or the expressions the human had had on her face as he’d told her about the past. Beel threw a glance over his shoulder, satisfied to see that Cinna was keeping up pretty well for a human. 

Her eyes, however. The emotions had disappeared, and now her eyes were a pair of icy-cold stones.

Beel turned his head, forcing himself to focus.  _ We have to make it in time _ . If Lucifer actually killed the angel, that would be bad for everyone… He bared his teeth.  _ This is my fault _ . Guilt drummed within him.  _ If I hadn’t agreed to hide Luke in our room _ … 

In the underground tomb, they halted to take in the scene. The little chihuahua of an angel was cowering near one of the stone coffins, clutching to some ancient-looking tome, and a frantic Mammon stood nearby: Beel could hear him tell Lucifer to calm down. And Lucifer… Beel shuddered. The Avatar of Pride had taken on his demon form, and he was glowing with a black aura.

Luke said something, and Lucifer responded: “That  _ book _ you’re holding…  _ Do you realize what that is _ ?”

Taking a longer look at the tome, Beel gasped. “I know that book…” Even from a distance, he was certain of it.

Mammon happened to glance their way. “FINALLY! Cinna, Beel, you’re here! TOOK YA LONG ENOUGH!” He gestured with his hand, signaling for them to get closer.

“That’s a  _ grimoire _ ”, Beel murmured to Cinna as they hurried onwards. “There’s several out there, but the one Luke is holding… It has the power to  _ control a demon  _ – to make him do  _ anything _ , even if it’s in violation of a pact. We can  _ never _ allow it to be stolen  _ under any circumstances _ .”

“Well maybe don’t leave it lying around in a tomb, then, geez!” Cinna groaned. “Like damn!”

Beel had to admit she made a good point. 

Mammon’s attention had turned back to Luke. “How’d ya end up lost in a place like this anyway!?”

Luke, stammering, said that he had no idea, that he had just stumbled into the tomb from Beel’s closet somehow. Beel closed his eyes for a moment.  _ Uh, oh _ . He could immediately sense Lucifer’s powers gathering. 

“Did you just say BEELZEBUB’S ROOM?”

And then Beel was face-to-face with Lucifer. He couldn’t help flinching: he’d never seen Lucifer so mad at anyone before..!

“BEELZEBUB!” Lucifer roared. “Were you hiding this angel in your room? Did you  _ allow him access _ to the House of Lamentation? This angel who would try to  _ steal that grimoire _ ..?”

“Y-you’ve got it all wrong!” Luke squealed. 

“Hey, idiot!” sneered Mammon. “This ain’t no time to be makin’ excuses! Once Lucifer flips out, it’s no use tryin’ to stop him!”

The dark aura around Lucifer got stronger, pulsing. “ _ You two better be ready to face the consequences.. _ !”

There was a flash of movement, and then  _ Cinna _ was standing in front of Lucifer, her back towards Beel and the angel. She spread out her arm, like to shield the two, and she crouched herself slightly. 

“Cinna!?” exclaimed Mammon.

Beel and Luke both just gasped, and Lucifer glared at the human. “Out of the way, human! Or do you want to  _ die _ here?”

“Go for it”, the lunatic of a human sneered. Her slightly hoarse voice sounded… excited. Beel could see her muscles rippling, tensing, then relaxing again as she took up a boxer’s pose. “Do it! I fucking dare you!” The words were strained, dripping with rage.

Bloodlust. 

“Stop it, Cinna!” Beel reached for the human’s shoulder, but she shook his hand off. 

“C’mon, this is serious!” groaned Mammon. Beel could tell he was about to go into full panic mode. “He’s going to kill you for real..!”

But Lucifer stood still, studying Cinna with narrowed eyes. “A human risking so much to defend a demon and an angel…  _ how very interesting _ . Well.” He flicked his wings, lifting and bristling them to appear more intimidating. “If you want to be a hero, you’re going to have to choose one of them to save. Beelzebub, or Luke.”

Hearing the words and seeing the fury in the black eyes that now glowed more in red, Beel shuddered.  _ Surely she will not choose me, a demon.. _ . The thought made his insides ache.  _ We haven't exactly been that nice to her… So why would she..?  _

“I ain’t no damn hero”, the woman sneered heatedly. Beel felt his heart leap when she went on: “Still… I choose both, so fuck you!”

For a moment nothing happened. Everything was perfectly still and quiet. Beel stared at the scene before him with wide eyes, feeling terribly helpless.  _ Just like… that one time _ … And as that thought entered his head, he finally lurched forward, to at least shove the human out of harm's way… 

But just like before, he was too late.

* * *

_ “ _ Cinna… Cinna… come back to me, Cinna…”

_ Groaning softly, I opened my eyes, blinking them rapidly. A broad figure was leaning towards me: it took a while for my blurry vision to recognize the figure as Beelzebub.  _

_ “Cinna.” His features relaxed and his face started beaming as he smiled. “You’re awake.” Then he frowned. “I’ve been here watching you. I thought you might never wake up, since humans are so fragile and all.” _

_ I tried to chuckle, but it sounded more like a groan. “I’m tougher… than most…” I couldn’t help grimacing. My body was aching all over. _

_ “Do you remember what happened?” _

_ Flashes of the past few days came back to me. Meeting the dude up in the attic. The kitchen incident. Beelzebub telling me about his twin brother and their eighth sibling, their now deceased sister Lilith. That the guy up in the attic was the seventh brother, Belphegor, who was supposed to be in the human world for Diavolo’s exchange program…  _

_ And then… the underground tomb. Luke and the grimoire. Infuriated Lucifer.  _

_ “If Lord Diavolo hadn’t come running up, you’d be  _ dead _ right now, you know.” Beelzebub paused. “It was like you had a death wish…” _

It’s like you got a death wish, girl. You should be more careful. You’re no longer a _ — I shuddered. “Guess I should go thank him, huh?” I drawled. Then I sighed. “Were you guys hurt?” _

_ “I’m fine”, Beelzebub said. “Simeon took Luke back to the Purgatory Hall. He’s pretty shaken up, but unharmed. And Mammon was here watching you until a moment ago.” My heart skipped a beat. “I think he was worried about you… in his own sort of way.” _

_ “Oh.” I had no idea how to react to that piece of information.  _

_ “This is all my fault”, Beelzebub then murmured, hanging his head. “All I could do was stand there and watch…” I quietly listened to him rambling about his guilt for a while, instinctively understanding that he needed to get all that off his chest, but then he asked me why I had tried to shield him and Luke. _

_ Slowly, I moved my hand to my neck, reaching for the dog-tags. “I… didn’t really think about it”, I said hoarsely as my fingers curled around the thin metal plates, rubbing my thumb against the etching of the helmet. “Just… a reflex.” My heart thudded painfully hard. _

_ “Ah, so that’s just the kind of a person you are.” _

_ I had to turn my head to the side.  _ No… I’m not… back then, I wasn’t… 

_ There was a rustling sound as Beelzebub shifted himself. “As I watched you there sleeping, as I looked at your face—” my cheeks went hot at the thought of  _ him _ watching me while I’d been KO’d “—I couldn’t help wondering… If the situation had been reversed, would I have stepped in to defend you?” I opened my eyes to see Beelzebub tilting his head: he smiled at me. “I want to do something to make it up to you. Is there anything I can do?” _

_ For a moment, I just focused on breathing. My ribs were hurting a little. I did my best to gather my chaotic thoughts into something more coherent. Each of the brothers I’d met so far and their ‘assigned’ sins…  _ These guys are a lot like… me. _ Like this dude right here. I allowed myself to look at him directly, studying his features.  _ There’s a void inside of him that he’s trying to fill with food _. _

_ Something inside of me dissolved, turning into a resolve. _

_ “I…” I licked at my lips, hesitating at first. Belphegor had suggested I form pacts with all of his brothers, to break the seal on the attic door, but could I really trust him?  _

_ And was it really alright for someone like  _ me _ to form pacts? To steal away the brothers’ choice to command their own bodies? I thought on how Mammon had started behaving towards me. It felt… wrong. I had no idea if his behavior had changed because of the pact, or because of something... more genuine. But... there was no way that it could have been the latter, so... _

_ Then the words just popped up into my head, rolling off my tongue: “I’d like to do something… to impress Lucifer. To gain his respect. And… to find a way to help your brother, Belphegor, to patch things up with Lucifer.” I inhaled through my nostrils.  _ I failed to save you, but maybe I can save these guys. Atone for my own sins.  _ “Beelzebub… Would you like to form a pact with me?” My voice had turned into a barely audible whisper. _

_ “Hmm…” Beelzebub had looked astonished by my words at first, but then his expression had become more and more thoughtful. To my surprise, he nodded. “All right. I feel the same way. I want Belphegor and Lucifer to make up, too.” He chuckled. “I’ll make a pact with you, Cinna.” _

_ “Thanks”, I sighed just as I felt a familiar sensation tingling at the small of my back. What the fuck, I thought, suddenly feeling worn out. Why  _ there _ …?  _

_ Later Beelzebub also took me out for a meal, saying that he felt he needed to show his gratitude in a more profound way. For some reason Mammon and Leviathan tagged along as well, and we ended up explaining the plan to them too. Beelzebub convinced them that they should let me help them fix their family issues: apparently no one had even bothered trying before. If anyone wanted to make pacts with them it was for power, so none of the brothers besides Asmodeus had previously been that willing to make pacts with anyone, detesting the idea of giving up their freedom.  _

_ Hearing that, I rubbed at my right thigh. Guilt and confusion of my own motives rattled me up. _

_ Afterwards when we got back to the House of Lamentation, I was told that the kitchen was done with repairs, and that after that night I should return to my own room. But that night, I still stayed in the twins’ room. _

_ I was about to drift off when Beelzebub murmured: “Cinna… you awake?” _

_ “Hmh?” I stirred. “What’s up, buddy?” _

_ “Do you have any brothers?” _

_ I pressed my chin to my chest, my hand immediately reaching for the dog-tags. “...Yeah. I do. A few.” I licked at my lips. “Some sisters, too.” _

_ “Huh… So you have a big family.” _

_ “Hmh.” _

_ There was a rustling sound. “Do you ever miss them?” _

_ I rubbed a thumb on the etching of the helmet. “Sometimes.” _

_ He was quiet for a while. Just as I was about to drift off again, Beelzebub spoke up: “Sometimes I dream about her. They’re not happy dreams. Lilith and Belphegor… they both just disappear, and I… I’m left all alone.” I opened my eyes and stared into the dark of the room. The protective instinct rose its head within me again, and I wanted to hold him close, hug him tightly, brush his hair. “Everything is pitch-black, and suddenly I’m falling through a void…” There was another rustle, and I knew he’d just sat up on the couch. “Would it be okay… to lay down next to you?” _

_ Hearing the hushed, throaty whisper, I shuddered. “Sure”, I managed to utter. _

_ He was there in an instant, swiftly settling down next to me. Heat rushed over me: the dude really was a damn warmth radiator. Holding my breath, I found myself staring into his eyes. They had a purple-pink glow to them. Had he just read my mind, I wondered, about how I’d wanted to— _

_ “Can I… hold your hand?” As he whispered the words, his warm breath fell on my face. “For a little bit. Until I fall asleep.” _

_ “O-okay.” _

_ The word had barely left my lips when he was already clutching to my hand that was resting on one of the pillows. I let out a soft gasp. He had a strong, firm grip. Warmth spread up from my fingers to my arm, making my body tingle in a way I hadn’t experienced in a while. I forced those thoughts to the back of my head. “You really miss them, do you?” I resisted the urge to brush my thumb on his skin, afraid the gesture would either make him pull away, or lead into something that we’d both probably regret later. _

_ Beelzebub just stared at me. “What are your brothers like?” _

_ I blinked. “Uhh…” At first I didn’t want to tell him, but considering the things he’d just shared with me… I sighed. “They’re… different from me.” I shifted a little. “I’m actually not that close with many of them. But…” I tugged at the chain that was around my neck. “If anything was to happen to any of them…” My voice trailed off, my grip on the dog-tags tightening. _

_ “What are you holding? You keep touching at it a lot.” _

_ “Hmh?” I gave the chain another tug. “Oh, these… A memento from the past.” I quickly stashed the tags under my shirt. “Listen… How about I sing us something? Like, a lullaby of sorts. Would you like that?” _

_ Beelzebub was quiet for a while. “...Lilith used to…” _

_ “Hmh? I couldn’t quite hear you, buddy.” _

_ “Sing.” His tone was commanding, and his grip on my hand tightened so that I thought my bones were about to break. _

_ “Easy there”, I gasped, wriggling my arm. _

_ “S-sorry…” His grip eased and his hand slipped from mine. _

_ Chuckling, I quickly caught it. “Okay. You ready?” I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, then started to sing. My voice shook at first, sounding weak and pathetic, but I quickly found the right pitch range as my voice strengthened.  _

Shadows fall

And hope has fled

Steel your heart

The dawn will come

The night is long

And the path is dark

Look to the sky

For one day soon

The dawn will come

The shepherd’s lost

And his home is far

Keep to the stars

The dawn will come

The night is long… 

Bare your blade

And raise it high

Stand your ground

The dawn will come

The night is long…

_ I allowed my voice to fade. My cheeks felt hot as silence fell into the room.  _

_ There was a soft rustle. “That’s a sad song.” _

_ “Hmh. I guess.” I smiled weakly. “It’s from a video game. Something we’d sing whenever we were missing one of our own.” The metal plates nestled between my breasts bit into my flesh. I quietly welcomed the physical pain, as it distracted me from the one that was now throbbing inside of me. _

_ “Sing it again.” _

_ And I sang, until we both fell asleep. _

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Cinna sings to Beel is from Dragon Age: Inquisition (The Dawn Will Come). Not sure if it's okay to use a song in a fic like this, but when I thought about this scene, that song just started playing in my head so I wanted to include it somehow... ^^;; Might edit the lyrics out if necessary. 
> 
> Apologies for not having updated in a while!! >< I've been busy trying to get certain papers for the background check of the job I was offered and interviewed for: I've never had to go through a thorough background check like this before for a job, so it's been stressful as well. (I've also been working on another fandom's fic, one which I probably will not post on here ahahaha) Anyways I should know more about the job next week, if the background verification succeeds...


	8. Tensions Increase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belphie daydreams. Cinna receives a warning from Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly based on Lesson 6.

* * *

He couldn’t tell the passing of time: he didn’t have his D.D.D., and he’d smashed the clock that had been brought there – the ticking had pissed him off. After having gone through the books and magazines that were scattered around, there wasn’t exactly much for him to do up in the attic other than sleep and daydream about his revenge. As his plans and fantasies mixed, blurring his sense of reality, it became difficult for him to tell when he was actually awake and when he was asleep.

Even though he’d been told it’d be pointless to call for help, he’d still tried banging at the walls and shouting, hoping that someone could hear him. But the wards that had been placed around the room made sure no demon could hear anything from the room, let alone enter it, ensuring his presence there would remain unknown to the others. That he’d remain trapped. 

Then he’d tried to reach for the others’ dreams. To no avail. Frustrated, his hatred for his oldest brother growing by the minute, he’d reached for the dreams of humans…  _ Find me _ . And now one of them was here.

Hearing the human woman singing to his twin, Belphie hugged his beloved black-and-white pillow more tightly to his chest. The sound of her voice and the lyrics of the song made his heart drum, and ache as memories flooded his mind.  _ Lilith _ . How the three of them had curled up next to one another, with her in the middle, and she had sung to them until they’d all fall asleep… 

The pain of having lost her stung him in the chest, and he shoved the memories aside with force. Belphie knitted his brows together. He had figured the human wouldn’t have much trouble winning Beel over, but that Beel had actually spoken to her about Lilith and even his bad dreams… Dark emotions swirled and whirled inside of him – jealousy. Hatred. He had listened to what had been happening in the human’s room. How both Beel and Mammon had started visiting there after the TSL series marathon, and recently Levi had started frequenting there as well – apparently the human liked video games, too. The four would play games and watch shows together, although Beel had mostly been there just for the snacks.

And now she had saved Beel from Lucifer. Belphie’s mouth twisted. Even though he had suggested that the human should make a pact with his twin next, the way it had happened made his blood boil. 

“Don’t get too attached to the human, brother”, Belphie murmured against his pillow, half-closing his eyes as he recalled his first encounter with the woman. She hadn’t been anything he’d expected appearances-wise, and though she’d seemed cold and cautious, even suspicious of him, she’d still fallen for his plan easily.  _ Humans are so pathetic and stupid _ . Belphie rolled on his back and rested his arm on his forehead, smirking at the ceiling. “When I get out of here…” His eyes closed. “They will pay… for Lilith…”

As he started drifting into sleep, Belphie made yet another attempt at reaching for the human’s dreams. But just like before, everything looked blurry – all the sounds were distorted. It was like there was a barrier that was keeping him away… Hmm. Belphie rolled onto his side. It was a miracle he had managed to reach her at all before. But whatever: the human was now here, and willing to help. A smile crept on his lips and he chuckled when he recalled what the woman had told Beel.  _ To impress Lucifer, huh _ … The human's audacity made him cackle. 

Once again Belphie succumbed into violent fantasies. 

* * *

_ Gasping, I sat up. My hand immediately clutched to the dog-tags as I took in heavy, ragged breaths, my shoulders heaving.  _ The fuck… was that feeling _..? I tightened my grip around the tags as I glanced around the dimly lit room I was in. Sweat filmed my skin as my thundering heartbeat slowed down to its normal rhythm.  _ This sensation…  _ I gritted my teeth together.  _ Bloodlust _ … It was so strong that I could feel the air vibrate and pulse with it. I licked at my lips. I could even taste it. _

_ Or maybe it’d just been a bad dream. I pulled a leg closer to my chest, wrapping an arm around the knee, and glanced down to my side. Beelzebub was still resting next to me, curled up on his side, hugging a hamburger pillow to himself: he’d sunk his teeth into it, too, and I could see his jaws moving as he was chewing on the thing. Drool had wetted the fabric.  _

_ Sighing, I plopped down on my back, staring at the ceiling. Yeah, considering our conversation earlier… My eyelids started fluttering. Just… a dream… _

What do you do to a machine when it gets broken?

A hand reaching out, eyes wide in fear, screams

Isn’t that the wish of everyone in a small town like this?

_ Never run away again, just charge in _

Flames bursting, smoke rising in the air

To become someone important… a hero

All you can do is run

_ I’ll never _

Fix it

The odds of survival are

Replace any missing parts

To do something meaningful and world-changing with your life

_ I’ll never measure up to _

40%

And when it gets beyond repair, you toss it away

You should be more careful: you’re no longer— 

Her legacy

_ I opened my eyes again. My heart thudded faster. Alright, so I wasn’t getting more sleep that night. Sighing, I did my best to get up and out of the bed without waking up Beelzebub. He shifted himself a little and murmured something, but he didn’t wake up. The moment my feet touched the floor, I straightened myself and lifted my hands high above my head, arching my back as I stretched. _

_ By the time I finished my morning workout, Beelzebub had awakened. He was resting on his back and looking at me with half-closed eyes. A little surprised by the quiet observation I’d become subject to without even realizing it, I ruffled the back of my hair. “Morning”, I managed to chirp. “Sleep well?” _

_ His lips curled up. “Mmhm… I saw her. Lilith.” My eyes widened at the name, the soft way with which he pronounced it. His purple-blue eyes with a hint of pink or magenta were brimming with emotion. “But it was a better dream.” _

_ “Good”, I squeaked, cleared my throat, then said: “Good. That’s good.” I nodded. “Ready to face a new day, buddy?” _

_ His smile faded, and I guessed he was thinking about the previous day. How his own older brother had threatened to kill him. Neither of us spoke a whole lot as we got ready for the day and breakfast. Breakfast was usually a hectic occasion during which the brothers would be noisy and keep bickering, and Beelzebub would try to steal anyone’s food who wasn’t attentive enough about their plate. Recently he’d gotten into a habit of focusing on my plate especially: I kept having to give gentle slaps to his hand as it crept towards my meal.  _

_ But that morning Beelzebub kept his hands to himself, barely touching his own plates and bowls. Not to mention I’ve experienced tense situations before, but this was on a whole other level: the air could’ve been sliced with a butter knife. It was rippling and pulsing with electricity. I remembered the sensation of bloodlust I had woken up to earlier. Did Lucifer still want to..?  _

_ Asmodeus sighed. “Aw, normally everyone’s so happy and full of energy at breakfast. But things are soooo tense today!” _

_ “Hmm.” Satan nodded. “After hearing about what happened last night, I’m not surprised.” _

_ “How about you, Levi?” Asmodeus glanced at the purple-haired dude. “You weren’t involved in the drama at all?” _

_ “I haven’t left my room in the three days since ‘Master of Diablo’ was released.” _

_ Satan chuckled. “I have to admit, sometimes there are advantages to being a shut-in. You avoid getting caught up in unpleasant business.” He glanced at Mammon. “I see Mammon has the same stupid look on his face as he always does.” _

_ “Huh? What’s that about my face now?” the white-hair chortled. “If you’ve got somethin’ to say, just come out and say it!” _

_ “Don’t have a hissy fit, Mammon”, sighed Asmodeus.  _

_ Then the conversation switched to the destruction of the kitchen and how no one had been able to use it until the previous day. Seeing Beelzebub’s upset expression and Lucifer’s angrily strained features, I decided I had had enough: might as well head out to class early. I started pushing back my chair, ready to get up. _

_ “Cinna.” I halted at once, feeling the hair stand up at the back of my neck. I glanced up to face Lucifer: he was looking at me with narrowed eyes. “Would you come see me in the music room before heading to class?” _

_ “Sure”, I managed to croak. _

_ “Good. I’ll be there waiting for you.” He pushed his chair back and got up swiftly, leaving the dining room with crossed arms. I glared at his back for a good while.  _

_ “Oooh!” Asmodeus gasped. “Lucifer wants to see Cinna? Yikes! Super scary!” _

_ “Careful, he might hear you”, murmured Satan. _

_ I happened to glance at the three demons with whom I had made pacts. They were all looking at me from under their brows, with worried expressions on their faces. For a fleeting moment I considered having one of them accompany me to the music room – I knew  _ they _ were definitely thinking that I should’ve done so. _

_ Slowly, I shook my head and got up. Nah… I’d go by myself. _

_ Lucifer was standing in the middle of the music room, staring at a piano. The moment I entered through the door, he turned to face me. “Ah, you’re here.” Lucifer’s eyes seemed to pierce right through me, making me sway so that I wished I could’ve reached my hand to some steady surface for some support. “I assume you know what it is I want to talk to you about.” _

_ I just arched a brow. _

_ “It’s regarding last night.” His eyes narrowed to thin slits in an angry fashion, but then he looked away from me, frowning. “What I did to you was inexcusable. I apologize.” _

_ My brows shot up higher. I crossed my arms, then shrugged. “Eh, I’ve been through worse.” _

_ Lucifer’s expression changed slightly, and he looked me in the eyes again, placing a hand to his chest. “There’s one thing I want to make absolutely clear.” His chest expanded as he inhaled deeply. “As long as they consent to it, I have no problem with you making pacts with my brothers. However…” The man’s face strained with barely controller anger, and I remembered the warning Satan had given me earlier. _

_ “Don't worry”, I said, my hand reaching for my right thigh. “I’d never use the pact against them, or invoke its powers unless absolutely necessary.” I grabbed at the fabric of my trousers. “I—”  _ don’t want to steal their will to decide for themselves,  _ I wanted to say, but Lucifer cut me off, apparently pretending I hadn’t just said anything.  _

_ “Your curiosity is getting the better of you, Cinna. I want you to  _ stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong _.” My heart started racing and my throat went dry as his dark eyes’ red tint increased. “I believe I warned you not to climb the stairs leading up to the attic. And yet  _ you did exactly that _.” I just bit on my lip, opting not to deny or admit anything. Lucifer shook his head, sighing. “Well, as I’m sure you’ve found, there’s nothing at all at the top of those stairs.” _

_ It took me all of my willpower to keep my jaw from dropping with surprise. My thoughts whirled back on the dude locked up in the attic.  _ Either I’ve been hallucinating about that one, or this guy doesn’t know that I know _.  _

_ Lucifer was speaking about the exchange year, how I’d be returned home once it was complete. As long as I was just alive to see that day, that is. “I imagine that last night served as somewhat of a learning experience for you”, the black-haired man murmured, glaring at me. Then his expression softened. “Still, the fact remains that I put you through a very scary experience. Sometime in the near future, I’d like to treat you to a meal out somewhere to make it up to you.” _

_ “Oh.” My eyes widened in surprise, and then, completely baffled, I started ruffling my hair. “T-that’s not necessary… really…Like I said, I've been through—” _

_ “I will not hear you saying no to me about this matter, Cinna. Now, that’s all I had to say. You’re free to go.” _

_ I left the House with my mind whirling. I was still pretty stunned by the time I got to the Assembly Hall where we’d been asked to gather. The moment I entered through the doors, I was greeted by a beaming Mammon: “Hey, how about that! Cinna, you’re alive!” _

_ I honestly got a little startled by how happy he sounded. My cheeks flushed. “Well hello to you, too. Oh, oi!” Suddenly I was staring at Beelzebub’s wide chest. “Hey!” I squealed as his large hands suddenly started poking at various parts of me. My face went burning hot. “Wh-what…” _

_ “Let’s see”, the orange-hair was murmuring, eyes shining as he prodded me with a finger. “Yep, you’ve still got both arms and both legs.” He quickly poked at the spots he’d mentioned, and my skin started to burn. “Your eyes are still in their sockets—” I quickly jerked my head back to avoid getting poked in the damn eyeball “—and your ears are still attached.” I got gently patted on the head. “Guess you’re okay.” _

_ Flustered, I huffed wordlessly and swatted his hand away. “Hell yeah I’m okay! Sheesh…” Something fluttered in the pit of my belly. Had they actually worried about me, or..? _

_ Leviathan approached me. “I want to know what Lucifer did. You’ve got to give me the deeds L-8-R, yo!” _

_ Mammon snickered in contempt. “Man, there you go again! Like, what lame message board did ya learn THAT on?!” He poked his brother on the shoulder. “Also, it’s one thing to type L8R, but who the hell actually says it out loud?!” _

_ “Whaaat?” I heard Asmodeus groaning from behind me. “You’re still alive? Well  _ that’s  _ boring…” _

_ “Of course”, chuckled Satan. “Unless he went crazy again like last night, Lucifer wouldn’t harm Cinna.” He halted next to me, throwing me a bright smirk. “And do you know why that is, Cinna?” _

_ “‘Cause I’m a human exchange student”, I said hoarsely.  _

_ “Exactly.” His green eyes flashed, and he frowned. “If anything were to happen to one of our exchange students, it would make Lord Diavolo look bad. Lucifer would never do anything to harm Lord Diavolo’s reputation.” _

_ Remembering the conversation we had had by the cafeteria stairs, I nodded slowly. Right. The black-haired man was one of  _ those  _ guys, too.  _

_ “Ooh…” Asmodeus gasped. “Speak of the devil! Lord Diavolo and Lucifer just showed up.” _

_ “Looks like everyone is here”, the red-haired man said cheerfully. “Shall we get started?” _

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asdfjsdhfg I finally get to update this!!
> 
> I got the job!! I'm to start on March 22, and I need to move to another country! My flight is on March 16... Yieeeeeeeee
> 
> So!! I've been crazy busy with all sorts of paperwork, packing, and other preparations. With writing, I've also mostly been working on another fic idea, heh, but today I finally got around to finishing chapter 10 and started chapter 11 as well! :P


End file.
